1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reusing an output string as an inputting string. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for converting a special output character code into a character code set accepted as an inputting string and reusing it. One example of such an apparatus is an electronic dictionary for converting a special output character code such as phonetic symbols into an acceptable character code set for re-retrieval.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In an electronic dictionary, a string of a word to be retrieved is input by a keyboard, and a result of retrieval is displayed on a screen of a displaying device. There may be a case at this moment, for example, that the user wants to carry out a retrieval in the dictionary again for confirming the meaning of the word which has been output as a result of retrieval. In such a case, a conventional electronic dictionary requires the user to input again the string of the word to be retrieved by the keyboard, which results in poor operability.
As means for resolving the above problem, the Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 3-51958 (1991) discloses an electronic dictionary capable of using a selected part of a displayed string as an input string for re-retrieval.
A recent operating system having a graphical user interface (hereinafter, referred to as GUI) can transfer data of an application process to another application process with ease by possessing a buffer called a clipboard for temporarily storing data.
However, in the case where the content to be transferred is a string, characters are changed into different characters which make no sense or are abnormally displayed. Therefore, the character string cannot be reused as an inputting string if the string is not expressed by a general code set or includes foreign characters unique to the application process. This also occurs even in the case of the general code set if there are differences among code sets used in application processes such as new Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), old JIS, shift JIS or Extended Unix Code (EUC).
Therefore, some application processes prohibit selection of a part which has been output expressed by a special code as a string to be written in the clipboard. Some other application processes allow selection, but the selected part is limited to be written as image data. In the case of the phonetic symbols, some application processes can convert them into voice to be output, but it is not considered to be reused by other application processes.
So far, the conversion of the string has been executed at the inputting side. For example, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 2-67684 (1990) discloses an apparatus for rewriting notations of an input string having subtle differences between users so that it can be retrievable.
In this method, however, it is necessary to convert the input for each application process, and besides, the string which is not expressed by the general code set or foreign characters unique to an application process cannot be accepted. Accordingly, it is necessary to convert the string which is not expressed by the general code or foreign characters unique to the application process into the string expressed by the general code set at the side of the application process generating notation using such specific character code.
In a system employing the above-described clipboard, there are some application processes which prohibit selection of the part which has been output expressed by the special code such as the phonetic symbols as the string to be written in the clipboard, and some other application processes which allow selection, but the selected part is limited to be written as the image data. In the case of the phonetic symbols, some application processes can convert them into voice, but the phonetic symbol is not used again in re-retrieval.
As means for realizing retrieval using pronunciation, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 4-10052 (1992) discloses an electronic dictionary capable of retrieving using pronunciation represented by katakana, one of the two kinds of Japanese kana script used for syllabary writing. However, it is impossible to carry out the retrieval directly using the phonetic symbols; therefore the user is required to convert them into katakana before inputting process, which results in extremely poor operability.